A/N: This is the end! I plan to revisit my original characters and Gaila again, but it will probably be in the form of one-shots.
I'd like to give a quick reply to theteener, who said, "I am glad that she showed him how angry she was with him. It's totally how I imagine movie Nyota to be." In Chapter 7, I based Nyota's strong reactions on her characterization from the film, and I'm glad to know that came across.
Thanks as always to my beta Paula (vampirealchemist13). This chapter I also had editing help from Leo and Rick.
I want to give a special thanks to NotesFromAClassroom - this chapter includes a line of poetry taken with permission from her epic Spock/Uhura fic "What We Think We Know." Notes is a pro, and I couldn't recommend her work more highly, especially this fic. URL: fanfiction .net/s/6290860/ (just remove the space)
Posted: 01/08/12
Last edited: 01/13/12
Nyota walked. Occasionally, she strutted. She didn't bounce.
Today was an exception.
As she entered the lab, Spock rose from his chair and handed her an eggplant panini with a glint in his eyes that Nyota had come to think of as a Vulcan smile. His fingers casually brushed hers as she handed him his tea, and she felt a spark of amusement through his skin.
Just like that, the pragmatic part of her mind, the tiny worried voice murmuring that even after his confession yesterday he might shut her out again, was extinguished by the casual touch of his mind like a flame pinched between wet fingers.
"Shall we begin..." He quirked an eyebrow. "...Cadet?" he finished dryly.
She smiled, and they sat at the round table as Nyota pulled up the next text on her PADD - a poem from the S'lan Period. Spock had translated the first two lines.
I am drawn to you against my will.
I ravish you in my dreams.
She shivered.
"I'm leaving," Sorel said abruptly.
Nyota blinked in surprise. She lifted her eyes from their work. "What did you say?"
He looked out the library window. "San Francisco has lost its charm for me," he admitted with a smirk on his lips, leaning back in his chair.
"Wait... a-are you serious?" she stammered. Despite his capricious tone, he seemed not to be joking about the subject matter.
"You're right," he teased. "San Francisco is perpetually charming - as are you, Miss Uhura."
Skipping over the compliment, she frowned. "Why?"
"Don't be so upset." He chuckled. "I've finally decided to enlist in Starfleet."
Warmth filled her as she remembered something he had told her long ago. "You're kidding," she said, hoping he was serious.
He shook his head. "They're sending me to a training facility on Mars. It's time for something new." He seemed softer - calm in a way she hadn't seen in him before. "Who knows? Maybe you could pull some strings - get me assigned to Enterprise scrubbing plasma ducts." He winked at her.
Nyota smiled brightly.
"If you ever feel like practicing your Rihannsu..."
"I'll look you up," she promised.
Where would she be had she chosen a different bar companion that night?
Would she ever have confessed her feelings for Spock? Or she would have graduated and moved on with her life, never knowing that Spock felt the same?
Never knowing how it felt to have her love for him reciprocated.
On impulse, she pressed a kiss to Sorel's cheek. "I'm going to miss you-" She laughed again. "-am I repeating myself?"
"You'll forget me the moment you leave atmo," he deadpanned.
She bit her lip and said slowly, "When do you ship out?"
"Next month."
"That's not much time."
"It's enough time to finish this research paper," he assured her with a smirk. "Also, enough time to get some strawberry ice cream at Tosci's."
Taking the hint and reluctant to dwell on future goodbyes, Nyota packed up her PADD and slung her bag over her shoulder like the intrepid explorer she dreamed of being. "Let's go," she said with a grin.
That night, Spock and Nyota met at her favorite African fusion restaurant off campus, a cozy place where they could relax away from prying eyes.
Since he had instructed her in Intermediate Vulcan three years ago, a segment of the Academy rumor mill - curious about her presence at office hours despite her high scores and astonished that she had the nerve to challenge him during class - had buzzed with questions about the true nature of their relationship.
As Spock was no longer Nyota's instructor or supervisor, their changed relationship was well within regulations, but with a position on the Enterprise dangling before her like an almost-ripe fruit, she agreed with his suggestion that they remain discreet for the time being.
Spock was dressed in a green turtleneck and black trousers that hugged his elegant body. Something about seeing him out of uniform, away from the context of the Academy, had always felt intimate. Now, the longing she had always been forced to hide was replaced with a flutter of joy.
Nyota was surprised at how effortless it felt to be with him this way. They had been playing roles before, she reflected. Now they were free, unconstrained by their old script.
Over dinner they talked about personal topics, and for the first time she did not have to hold back comments that might reveal her feelings. She laughed about an anonymous love note she'd left on her first-grade crush's desk. She told him about falling off her horse during showjumping championships.
In return, Spock told her stories of his own childhood, including his near-death experience during his kahs-wan - the Vulcan coming of age ritual - and his rescue at the hands of an older cousin.
Nyota talked about Africa and the songs of her childhood, and Spock invited her to an upcoming xenocultural choral concert in the city.
She did not notice how long they had talked until the restaurant officially closed and Spock suggested they continue their conversation at his apartment.
Nyota had been to Spock's apartment a few times in their two years of friendship. He had cooked for her sometimes, and they had spent hours talking about music theory and engineering, chemistry and linguistics. They had always been hungry for knowledge and eager to share with each other.
As Spock entered his access code with his right hand, the fingers of his left hand brushed the inside of her wrist, drawing tight, deliberate circles. They entered, and he waited until the door shut behind them before stepping close to her from behind, keeping his hold on her arm.
He breathed her in.
"I thought we were going to continue our conversation," she said with mild amusement.
His fingers were hot on the bare skin of her arm. She felt his consciousness tingling at the edge of her mind and projected an image of herself in stilletos, falling.
He drew in a sharp breath and slid an arm around her waist, closing the distance between them. "Is that your wish?" he asked rhetorically.
Arousal washed over her. She turned around and brushed her fingers from his hipbones up to his jawline. Spock kissed her fiercely.
She rolled the tips of his ears between her thumb and forefinger, and he bit her bottom lip. A deep vibration of pleasure, almost like a purr, came from his chest. Fascinating.
Spock's pleasure and hers combined in her mind, transmitted through their skin, until she lost track of which sensations came from whom.
For a few minutes they were happy just to explore each other, but soon the depth of their emotions took them over, and they were overwhelmed with the need to feel more of skin on skin. Spock slid one hand up her leg to her bare hip as he lowered the zipper of her gold dress with the other. She sighed into his mouth, and her breath caught when he sucked and licked the skin just below her ear.
The dress dropped to the floor.
More, one of them thought, and they were suddenly desperate to shed their remaining clothing.
The moments blended one into another: Her cool fingers wrapping around him, stroking him. His hands cupping her breasts. Her long leg hooking around his hip. His hot fingers curving deep inside her.
He paused to touch her temple, and her entire being cried out her certainty that this was what she desired.
Slipping his fingers from her he lifted her easily against the wall. She wrapped both legs around him, and then he was sliding into her, his fingers on her face, filling her body and mind completely.
Hours later, she fell asleep with him still inside her, and he slept for almost an hour beneath her cool body. Later that night, they awoke and made love again.
When Spock opened his eyes several hours later to see the sunlight streaming through Nyota's eyelashes, he felt peace settle over him for the first time in months.
"Ny," Gaila said from her bed. "You're wearing the same clothes as last night, and you smell like a vulpine."
Nyota smirked. "An unnecessary synonym."
"You've been so sexual lately that I was getting tired of saying 'fox.'" Gaila grinned as she rolled onto her side, propping head up on her elbow. "Proud of you. I'd hug you if I weren't so sleepy."
"You don't have to move to hug me," Nyota said, curling up next to Gaila.
"Not fair! Smelling him on you makes me want a Vulcan even more!" Gaila giggled. "Sorry, did I say 'on you'?"
Nyota reached over and smacked her friend playfully. Gaila flopped half on top of her, a mass of curls tickling her neck as the Orion hugged her tightly.
"You know," Gaila looked up at her, resting her chin on Nyota's chest. "If it weren't for me, you'd never have met Sorel. Therefore, you wouldn't have gotten all sad and blurted out your feelings for Spock. And he wouldn't have realized how much his life would suck without you and given you VIP access to his head to show you his undying love. So if it weren't for me..." She let the moment hang in the air. "-you never would have just banged Spock-and-was-it-amazing?" she said the last part in an excited rush.
Nyota smiled and gave a happy sigh. "I need a shower."
"You're welcome," Gaila said with a grin, rolling onto her back. "I've memorized the Vulcan smell for future use in my fantasies. You're free to go."
As Nyota turned on the shower, she heard her friend pipe up thoughtfully.
"Do you think a Romulan would smell that good on me?"
A/N: There it is. The final chapter. The culmination of many months of writing and countless hours of editing.
Sometimes these characters surprised me. I really enjoyed the ride. I hope you did, too!
Please leave a review if you got this far. I'd love to hear from you.
All my light,
Emily
